The haircut of 2013 brought the Cypriot economy to the brink of disaster. Businesses have closed, families have lost the savings of a lifetime and, today, thirteen years later, the state is being asked to pay part of the bill.
However, the "haircuts" seem to have found themselves in the end owing money to the state.
The Solidarity Fund was created to return amounts to the haircut depositors. However, the process is expected to take years, since the total amount, based on the applications submitted for inclusion in the Fund, is estimated at €2 billion. At the same time, those affected are now faced with a different problem.
This is because, in the first years after the haircut, they proceeded with lawsuits against the state, which they eventually withdrew. As a result, many "haircuts" are now required to pay legal fees incurred by the state.
According to information from the associations of those affected, the lawsuits that were registered and eventually withdrawn amount to several thousand, with the vast majority of applicants currently being required to pay legal costs to the state, ranging from €1,500 to €20,000 for each.
The issue, in fact, is not new. This is also demonstrated by the actions of the Central Bank of Cyprus itself, which created a procedure for reduced legal fees, covering both those who wish to withdraw pending lawsuits and those who had already withdrawn them, but still owed costs. The procedure remains valid until 31 December 2026.
At the same time, however, this arrangement does not seem to satisfy the haircuts. The president of SYKALA, Adonis Papakonstantinou, asked by "F" to comment on the issue, stressed that the state should stop claiming the costs of the lawsuits, since, according to him, it bears the responsibility for the haircut.
Mr. Papakonstantinou argued, at the same time, that the lawsuits were filed in the district courts at the suggestion of the Supreme Court, after previously haircut depositors had appealed to it, requesting the annulment of the decrees related to the haircut.
To our question whether some lawyers may have taken advantage of the desperation of the haircuts, pushing them to proceed with lawsuits and cultivating excessive expectations for their outcome, he replied in the negative, saying that, at least based on his personal experience, he did not find such a thing.
What they are asking for, as Mr. Papaconstantinou added, is neither reduced costs, nor repayment facilities, but the complete write-off of the amounts owed to the state as legal costs by those haircuts who proceeded with lawsuits and then withdrew them.
In fact, as we are informed, this issue is going to be registered in the Parliament, in order to be discussed in the competent committee.
€72 million was given. in 2025
Regarding the Solidarity Fund, Mr. Papaconstantinou stated that in 2025 about €72 million was given to haircuts, out of a total of €100 million budgeted.
As he explained, the remaining approximately €28 million could not be disbursed due to incorrect data and applications submitted.
In relation to 2026, he noted that so far there is no information on when the next disbursement will take place nor on the amount of the amount that will be allocated to make up for the losses of haircut depositors.
